The Coolest STEM Gifts for Kids for 2017

If you’re shopping for 2017 Christmas or other holiday gifts for kids, include a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) gift or two. These do double duty– they’re fun and educational! I’ve found the hottest (new) STEM toys you can give as gifts to kids ages 2 – 12.

How cute is this mathematical learning toy? Kids use the magnetic pen to move the balls around the maze, matching the colored balls to the animals and number of slots for each animal. Great fine motor skills practice, too. Ages 3+

Kids as young as six can build their own car using nuts, bolts, springs, and wheels! This car kit developing fine motor skills, visual-spatial skills, planning, problem solving, and creativity. Each kit provides instructions for 3 vehicles. Ages 6+

Roll this cool double sided mat onto your floor or table. One side is for larger bricks, the other for smaller. And, if you like this, you might want to check out the building block adhesive tape! Ages 3+

This game is great for the whole family. Pick a path for your horse to take to save the people and treasures from the castle’s invaders. Play reinforces counting, addition, and basic strategy. The player with the most points from their tokens wins the game. Ages 5+

Use this abstractly patterned and shaped wooden construction set to build imaginative structures. Ages 4+

Zoey and Sassafras Dragons and Marshmallows #1 by Asia Citro, illustrated by Marion Lindsay – Buy It Here Kids love these entertaining and well-written stories that have the coolest mix of science and magic, a diverse main character, and fantastic illustrations. Zoey, like her mom, can see magical creatures and is tasked to care for any injured creatures that might need help. In this story, she uses her science skills (including research and the scientific method) to figure out how to care for a sick baby dragon. Ages 6 – 9

STEM Gifts for Ages 8 – 12:

Don’t you LOVE the looks of this adorable 1 player game? Kids help the rabbits find safety by jumping over mushrooms and sliding foxes into their homes. This game includes 60 challenges requiring planning and logic. Ages 7+

Kandoodle Jr. – Buy It HereMy kids and I think these logic puzzles are so much fun! Practice strategy with the easy levels and then progress to more difficult puzzles. It’s a great 1 player, on-the-go activity since it comes in a nifty carrying case. See full review here. Ages 7+

Lucy joins coding club so she can make an app for her uncle to remember his cancer medications. But the class is moving TOO slow for her. Then, a mysterious letter arrives on her locker with instructions in code:

if (you_want_to_learn_code) {

do_everything_I_tell_you ();

}

The subsequent messages in code put her back in touch with old friends and help her build a new friendship. But who is sending her messages? Whoever it is, they’re teaching Lucy and her friends about input/output, conditionals, loops, and variables. To solve the mystery, the girls decide to write their own code . . . This series is off to a great start with an intriguing mystery, friendship dilemmas, and tangible coding knowledge. I’m impressed.

On the Brink: Coding Board Game – Buy It HereLearn coding concepts through fun game play with 40 challenges. Ages 8+

This 80 page book will help kids learn to make stop motion animation and regular movies. Set the stage with any of the six included background settings and thirty-six LEGO elements like a pizza, banana, baseball cap, six mini-figure heads, and more! Ages 8+

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our Anki Overdrive Fast & Furious. Like, my kids are addicted. They like how it’s super interactive with technology (their favorite). They love building and rebuilding the track and racing against each other, friends, dad, or the computer — both literally one of the most fun things they do every day! Download the free app which connects you to your race car. The magnetic track pieces easily fit together and you’ll have tons of possibilities for races and race tracks. Ages 8+

A great nonfiction science series! The books are in full color with photographs, illustrations, and kid-friendly design. The text size itself is perfect for elementary readers, it’s slightly bigger than typical nonfiction books of this length with decent white space in between the lines and around it. I’m also impressed with the way this book series delivers factual information without dumbing it down or making it too difficult to read. Ages 7+

Learn about engineering disasters like the Roman Colosseum’s collapse or the unsinkable Titanic then do experiments that fix those engineering issues using everyday household items. Illustrations accompany step by step directions for each activity. You’ll learn a lot from this engineering focused STEM book. Ages 8+

Your kids can do so much with Sphero’s new app-enabled robot that inspires not just coding but also learning STEM / STEAM topics in creative ways. SPRK+ from Sphero caught my kids’ attention from the get-go and held it as they began to explore the various learning possibilities with it. Read my full review here. Ages 8+

How cool is this, right? Kids get to create and control their own customized droid using electronic blocks and an app. I especially love that this STEM kit allows for kids to be creative as well as teaches them about electronics, creative inventions, and problem solving. Ages 8+

Learn more about the science, technology, engineering, and math concepts that contribute to making an amusement park ride. You’ll learn to make a Swing Ride, Ferris Wheel, and Boom Ride with this engaging hands-on building set filled with gears, connectors, rods, a motor, and much more. Ages 8+

Code your own personality-filled robot, play games, and explore Cozmo’s world. This is a hot gift for the 2017 Christmas season. I bet this will become a favorite toy for your young STEM learners. Ages 8+

I love how this cool gift combines coding with LEGO blocks. Build any of five robots, then use the coding blocks on the free app to make your robot move. Includes a playmat for specific activities. Ages 7 – 12

3-in-1 building fun! My kids love these, do yours? Make a townhouse or rebuild it into a city café or a suburban home. These are a favorite around our house with both my kids because they can take them apart and remake them. Ages 8+

Nintendo Switch is one of the hottest gifts of the Christmas season — this new gaming system can be taken on the go for tabletop mode or connect it to your TV. You’ll get two Joy-Con controllers for multiple players. If you have kids who like gaming, this is a top gift choice for the holidays. Pair with Super Mario Odyssey — a hot new game my own kids says is the coolest.

It might take a kid 100 hours to read this book. Maybe more. The beauty of it, besides the dense content of fascinating facts, is that kids can skip around to what interests them to read at that moment. As you expect from National Geographic Kids, the layout, colors, and photographs are fantastic making the information jump out at the reader. This is a great gift for kids who love nonfiction books of facts.

The authors found a great hook to make science cool — superman! Learn about flight, sight, speed, and strength all within the framework of superman’s superhero powers. Text boxes accompanied by color photographs, illustrations, and backgrounds make this a digestible and interesting nonfiction science book. Ages 8 – 12

The Book of Wildly Spectacular Sports Science 54 All-Star Experiments by Sean Connolly- Buy It Here

Organized by by categories of sports (bat and ball, indoor, winter, outside, rackets, and aquatic), each entry talks about the sport and then adds in the scientific elements, finishing off with an experiment. Take for example, “Why Does Pumping Up a Basketball Make it Bouncier?” talks about different ball sports and then gives you a cool bouncing experiment to try where you compare different bounce heights to their inflated pounds per square inch. I LOVE the ideas and lessons in this book and can’t wait to try some with my kids. Ages 8 – 12

The elaborate destroyer has so many intricate and authentic details including a working elevator, transparent-element engine, and a bridge with seating for the crew! Kids will have endless role play opportunities and the set makes an impressive display. Ages 9+

How awesome is this? Build this cool car using the over 2,000 pieces to make an all terrain vehicle. It has a working suspension, front steering, and a v9 engine. But, it includes so much more — this is a great gift choice for budding engineers who like to play, too. Ages 11+

I’ve indicated what ages for which the gifts are appropriate. If you want more specific recommendations I have them here:

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Comments

Why do the gift lists have to be separated by gender? My own young boys would love some of the ideas on the “girl” lists and I know a lot of girls who would love some of the products on the “boy” lists. When toys are segregated like this my kids get the message that they shouldn’t want the “girl” toys and something must be wrong with them if they do. That’s not ok.

It’s not a belief I have but it is how many people search to find things online. If you look at the products, there is a lot of overlap. And, knowing your own kids is the best. You’ll know what appeals to them regardless.